(no subject)

[summer_skin]

OKAY! I need help!

I have successfully done the restore and everything's backed up (as far as I know, anyway!). I had to find a few things that I didn't even know were missing and ANYWAY. Here I am, trying to dl the updates I need for XP (joy) and whatnot but holy shit.

MY MONITOR.

It's a brand new, 17" HP flatscreen. Plug and play. But it/the computer won't let me set the resolution above 1280x720 and this requires 1440x900. The current setting in my display is only 1400x1050 or something, which I can't even set. So now everything is SQUISHED and terrible.

HELP?! I don't know what to do. My computer was built for me so I'm not even 100% sure what to search for as far as drivers so, but I DO have a breakdown of the specs, if anyone can help me out.

Comments

[redina]

Have you tried visiting the HP website for drivers, if your monitor didn't come with a CD?

[summer-skin.livejournal.com]

Nope, it's plug and play. Already been to the HP website, there's nothing there.

[ignited.livejournal.com]

Try going to the HP website and looking up the model # for your monitor -- you should be able to find drivers there to download and update the computer to handle a higher resolution, if your flatscreen didn't come with a CD for it? I had to get a new monitor a few months ago and the HP site has a lot of driver updates there.

[summer-skin.livejournal.com]

I already checked it. There aren't any drivers for it because it's plug and play. :(

[ignited.livejournal.com]

eeep. Hmm, I just checked this site looking at Google quick and it says to update your graphics/video card drivers instead of the monitor ones? Maybe that might work -- it says that it has to deal more w/ resolution than monitor ones. IDK, that might be good to look at.

[koulagirl666.livejournal.com]

You need to update your video card drivers. If Windows can't find the correct one and it's not in the updates you're doing now, you'll need to search the name + model number of your video card + drivers, or go to the website for the manufacturer.

[summer-skin.livejournal.com]

I figured it out about three seconds after I posted this, LOL. Tool = me.

Do you know if there's a site or a forum where it's easier to dl drivers like this? I'm trying to google it but I keep coming up against the nivida driver detective that you have to pay for so I'm not sure if I'm doing it wrong or what.

[koulagirl666.livejournal.com]

That's usually how it works, though - if you ask you're guaranteed to figure it out before you get an answer!

There really isn't one easy place to find drivers; most forums are either brand-name specific or get shut down and move on without leaving a trail.
Have you tried the NVidia site (http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us) itself?

[girlmostlikely.livejournal.com]

Did you install ALL of the drivers on your driver disc? It should have included anything you needed for monitor and graphics card.

[summer-skin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but it seems there's one missing for my graphics card or it just wasn't included in what I got from my tech guy, I don't know. I'm trying to google a free driver for it but I'm failing hardcore.

[girlmostlikely.livejournal.com]

I'd go to the manufacturer's website and contact them to tell them what happened, give them the serial number of your graphics card, and ask them if they can't provide you with the link to the driver/s for free.

[jamesinboots.livejournal.com]

It's not the monitor that needs drivers, but your video card, as I think someone else mentioned above. If you don't know what video card you have, there's ways to find out. (If all else fails, open up the computer and read it off the card itself, heh.) After that, go to the manufacturer's website and look for drivers for that card. (It's not too hard to find, but I could help if you get the model!) (Video card drivers should always be available for free, they're just sometimes hard to find! Sometimes drivers are packaged so that you download one file that works with many different cards, so it can be confusing!)

[summer-skin.livejournal.com]

I got the monitor thing figured out so that's all good. But now I'm having problems a) disabling that annoying beep when I do something the computer doesn't like (like trying to click on a window behind another one and that sharp, whiny beep happens) and b) my add ons don't seem to want to work. At all. Oy.